Sunday, June 16, 2013

De Tomaso Pantera SI (1991-93)

The Pantera Si was not only a facelift from the original Pantera. It was a complete new car designed by Marcello Gandini, who also penned the Countach, Diablo, Lancia Stratos, Maserati Shamal and many more.

Marketed as the Pantera 90 in UK., the Pantera SI was the last variant of the Pantera model. Powered by a Mustang 5.0l V8 (tweaked to 305bhp). De Tomaso only made 41 of the SIs: two of these were crash tested - leaving 39 sold to customers. (italiancar.net)

Of the 41 Pantera SI's manufactured by De Tomaso, only four of them underwent official Targa conversions in 1994 by the Milanese coachbuilder Pavesi, a specialist in open-top modifications. Easily removed, the roof could then be stowed under the rear deck. The end result, it was almost impossible to tell the car had not been designed as such from scratch. The SI Targa was the last variant of the Pantera. (ultimatecarpage.com)